The Cardinals' defense played well in this game (especially given
the two interceptions Kurt Warner threw). But the 49ers have been
playing a lot better since Singletary took over as HC; I don't think
this was a fluke win. The 49ers could have a real shot to win the
NFC West this year, even if the Cardinals play at the same level
they were last year (which, for the regular season, isn't a very
high bar to cross).

Titans @ Steelers

According to the Pythagorean Projection, this was one of the
closest matchups this weekend (second only to Bears @ Packers), so
it's no surprise it was close.

Split Picks (Pythagoras 2-1) (Line 1-2)

Broncos (Pythagoras) @ Bengals (Line)

Both offenses struggled in this game; the score was 6-0 Broncos
until the Bengals scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than a
minute to play.

That should have been the game for the Broncos—before their
final score, they had only one drive go for more than 34 yards. But
the Bengals snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by tipping the
ball right into the arms of Brandon Stokley, who caught the ball in
stride, and was so wide open he could run a couple seconds off the
clock before stepping into the end zone.

Jets (Pythagoras) @ Texans (Line)

You may have
read Peter
King picked the Texans to win the AFC South. I wonder if he'd
like a do-over on that? The Jets have to be ecstatic over Mark
Sanchez right now. Of course, with the Patriots, Titans, and Saints
coming up, the party may not last long...

Cowboys (Line) @ Buccaneers (Pythagoras)

Pythagoras' prediction of the Cowboys demise may be a bit
premature. Of course, Pythagorean Projection doesn't take into account the Buccaneers' late-season collapse last year, or their situation at quarterback.

Overall

That's a very respectable 13-3 for Pythagoras, and 12-4 for the line. I'm not going to follow Pythagoras week-by-week, but I will have a year-end summary like this one for 2007-2008. I will be following the line picks week by week, same as last year.